The Chesterfield football history resource

Coventry-born, Steve built a fearsome goalscoring reputation
in non-league football before Scarborough were persuaded to take a punt on him
and bring him to League football. He didn't quite have the same effect there,
or at Carlisle, but found his touch again upon joining Halifax in 1990.

Steve signed for Chesterfield for a £33,000 fee in January 1992. All round the town there was
an incredulous delight, as those who lamented the club's poor scoring record
under Chris McMenemy, and who would prop up bars and cite Nozzer as just the
sort of player the club should sign, were gobsmacked when the club actually
went and did it. His close control made him difficult to dispossess, and his
knack of being in the right place at the right time made him the classic, simple
goal scorer. Steve had little time for defending, though, and this attitude
caused friction with John Duncan and Kevin Randall - curiously, two players
who, in their time, earned their livings in their opponents' boxes. The new
management team wanted eleven `team' players, and seemed to feel that Steve did
not fit that bill.

As an indifferent relationship between management and player
drifted to its obvious conclusion, many players were imported in an effort to
replace Steve. Who can forget the likes of Wade Falana and Neil Gregory? On
second thoughts, who can remember them? As the matter appeared to become more
personal, fans turned against the management, ironically, at a time when the
club were building towards promotion. Steve turned down a move to Lincoln and
settled for scoring heavily in the reserves, but tired of this, eventually, and
left. The man who should have been helping the club towards Wembley at the
business end of `94-5 saw that season out at
V. S. Rugby, single-handedly keeping them in the Beazer Homes Premier
division.

After an injury-hit spell with Worcester City Steve retired
from football, settled in Chesterfield and has worked in the brewery
distribution industry. Most recently, he has been running the Chesterfield arm of Ceiling Pro, a company that cleans and maintains suspended ceilings.